Fluency in Reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmatic: Part 1- What is Fluency?
If you have a child in school or are in education you have probably heard teachers talk about fluency in skills like reading, writing and math. Outside of school fluency is often talked about in relation to the skills of non-native speakers of a language. In this context is means the ability to speak, read, write, and listen to the language at the level of a native speaker. And that means that producing and understanding language is automatic and without the need to translate into your native language; you can think in that language. Fluency in the context of the skills of reading, writing, and math is the same; understanding, production, and use is automatic and without thinking.
The reason why developing fluency is so important has to do with the way the brain and memory work. Different types of memory are used for different tasks. Here is a great resource to explore how we use different type of memory (Types of Memory). Once fluency is developed the brain can use memory types like procedural memory or semantic memory, and in the case of writing one that they left out, muscle memory. However before fluency is attained each component must be completed using working memory. Using working memory is more effortful and requires greater concentration. As adults we might not remember the process of learning to read and the effort that it took while learning to read to identify each letter, remember the corresponding sound, and then string those sounds together sequentially to form a word. And then the additional process of taking those strings of words and extracting their meaning. But thinking back to when you learned a new skill as a teen or an adult, like learning to drive, and reflecting on how effortful it was at first and how now you might be able to hold conversations or listen to music and get where you need to go without conscious thought about the process. This is fluency in the skill of driving.
Without developing fluency but continuing to progress and build upon those skills means that increasing amounts of working memory are needed as students advance. This means students who have not attained fluency need more time and more effort to complete the same tasks as their peers who have attained fluency in a given skill. And for students with ADHD and Autism these challenges are increased. Autistics and ADHDers both have more limited working memory capacity compared to neurotypical peers. And with more limited working memory capacity that means that these tasks will require even more effort and time. What this does is set students up for frustration and overwhelm, and the loss of confidence that often accompanies them.
Over the next few weeks we will be exploring what is fluency in reading, writing, and math, how we can support students to develop these skills, and what are some of the accommodations we can provide to students to decrease the cognitive load while they work towards developing fluency.
